Endorsing machine



pri 24, 1951 G. L. MCCARTHYv ENDORSING MACHINE Filed Jan. 25, 1945TTORNEYJ.'

`or endorsed several times.

Patented` Apr. 24, 1951 ENDORSING MACHINE George L. McCarthy,v New York,N. Y., assignor to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., acorporation of New Jersey 4Application January 25, 1945, Serial No.574,556

1 claim. (ol. 1v1-316) The present invention relates to an endorsingmachine and more particularly to an endorsing machine for checks or thelike.

Known endorsing machines provide the marking or endorsement insubstantially the same .position on each document `or check or on thesame document or check which may be marked Frequently, a negotiableinstrument is endorsed several times and when such endorsements areeffectedin the same or similar machines the several endorsements aremade one over the other so that it becomes eX- `tremely difficult, ifnot impossible, to read any or all of the endorsements.

The4 primary object` of the present invention is the provision of anendorsing machine in which the relative position of the marking orendorsement is varied so that it is unlikely that successiveendorsements of a document or check will interfere with or obliterateeach other.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a marking assemblyto which documents are introduced from a guideway, and a means orarrangement for relative movement between the assembly and guideway. y

A further object of the invention is the provision of an endorsingmachine including a marking assembly, a stationary guideway andtranslating means for relatively moving the marking as sembly withrespect to said guideway.

Still another object of the invention is the provision in an endorsingmachine of amarking assembly, stationary guideway and translating meansfor transverse relative movement of the marking assembly with respect tothe direction of ydocument movement from the guideway into and throughthe marking assembly. I

A still further object of the invention is the provision-in an endorsingmachine of'transverse supports for the marking assembly and fortransversely moving the same with respect to a stationary guidewayand/o-r for operating a docu- Vment advancing means of the markingassembly.

4Other and further objects of the invention will be suggested to thoseskilled in the art by the disclosure `which follows:

The above and'other objects of the invention are embodied in anendorsing machine comprising a marking assembly having a `document pathand for marking upon a document in said path, a guideway for directingthe document into the document path of said assembly. and an operatfingmeans relatively moving said guideway and assembly with respect to eachother. Preferably,

the guideway is stationary and the marking assembly. is moved withrespect thereto. In general, the relative movement of the markingassembly and guideway is transversely of the direction of documentmovement from the guideway into and through the marking assembly. Whilethe illustrated embodiment shows a stationary guideway and transversemovement of the marking assembly with respect thereto, it shall be defi-Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section on the line 3'1--3V of Fig. 1. Y

As shown, the endorsing machinecomprises a frame, a guideway mountedthereon, a marking assembly movable with respect to said guideway, andmeans for moving said assembly with respect to said guideway and foroperating document advancing means on or associated with said lassembly.

The aforementioned frame comprises a base plate I0,'a side plate I I, aside frame I2 and a side plate I3 in spaced relation to said side frameI2. The side frame I2 has lateral flanges I4 and a spacer I 5 to whichthe side plate I3 is attached. Theguideway I6. preferably istrough-shaped and has a bottom Il` and side flanges I8 and` I9. Saidguideway I6, when made stationary, is mounted upon the frame member bymeans of a sleeve 20 and bolt .2l between side plate' II vof the framememberand side flange I8 of the guideway and by means of a sleeve 22 andbolt 23 between rside plate I3 and side flange I9. The marking assemblymay be provided :in two halves for ease of assembly ofthe machine and tofacilitate cleaning orV servicing thereof. The lower half of the markingassembly comprises a frame member 2t, a platen 25, an velectromagnet 25and a control therefor, Document advancing rollers are mounted upon bothhalves of the marking assembly in a manner to be described. Y e Theframe member has side walls 2l' [and sidewalls 28, an end Wall 29carrying 'projections 33 and 3! and has an end wall'3'2 including a U-shaped support 33.

The document advancing means preferably comprises rollers 34, 35, 36 and3l which are respectively rotatably mounted in bushings 36, 39, 40 and4| between pairs of side walls of the frame member 24. The roller 34 hasa sleeve d2 provided with a keyway, for a purpose to be later described,and rotates in a bearing sleeve 43 in' bushing 33, a collar d4 beingattached to sleeve 42 by a ssetscrew A5. The mounting for the roller 36is similar to that for roller 3d and need not be described in moredetail. Roller 35 has a sleeve 46 rotatable in a bearing sleeve 4'1 inbushing 39 and carries a collar le fastened thereto by a pin 49. Roller3l is similarly mounted and a shaft extends throughrellers 35 and 31which are attached for rotation therewith by the pins 9. Each of therollers 34| to 37, inclusive, may be covered with .a .friction .materialfor better engagement with the .document or checks. A sprocket 5| isanixed to roller and a sprocket 52 is affixed to roller 35 and a chain53 -enc-ircles said sprockets Yi and 52 so that rollers 35 and e??rotate simultaneously with roller ed.

A transverse `'shaft 54 has a :longitudinal key 55 complementary to -thefkeyway in the sleeves 42 for rollers 2d and 355 and 'is rotatablymounted Iat lone end -in a ball bear-ing e in side `-frame.

'|12 and at the other end lin #side pil-ate H. -A pulley A.51 is'mounted upon said fshait '5d and is `encircled by -a belt 5B which alsoencireles -a pulley 59 on the shaft F69 of ya motor el attached to sideplate I3. "Upon operation of motor 16| the shaft '54 is rotated throughthe 'pulley and belt connection us't described, rollers v3. and 36 arerotated by the key 355 and rollers -35 -a-nd 'sl are `rotated throughrthe connecting chai-n 53. As a result, rollers 34, -3'6 and f3? larerotated ysimul-taneoirsly -even though the frame memberl2'11is`movedalong shafted.

-A channel-shaped bar 62 has its opposite ends mounted `respectively onsidepla-te i and on side frame I2. Guide rollers S3, rotatablymounted inopposite `legs 'of Ueshaped support 3S, `engage opposite :sides of saidbar |52 -to support one fend of the lframe jmember' 24 but permittingmovement thereof;

The transl-ating -means for the marking kassembly -compr'ises threadedbushings l{il} 'and '65 mounted respectively in the side walls 2 and Z3`of the 'frame :member 124. A threaded rod ,Se `is rotatably mounted "inside frame .I2 b y a ball bearing assembly .61 `and `may 'be similarly11otatably ymounted at the other 'end in side plate Said threaded rod 56'engages the Vthreaded bushings Wi and `65 -on frame member 21| so thatr upon rotation `thereof the frame 'member is `moved Yalong -shaft '54and channel-shaped 'bar i152. The :drive of said translating Ymeanscomprises almotor 68 driving a'gear te on the .shaft thereof. Anysuitable reduction gearing maybe interposed between the driving motor 53V and threaded rod 6B. For example, the gear 69 meshes with the gear 'Hlintegral with a .gear 'i in mesh with a gear '|2 which carries a gear T3meshing with a gear "le mounted upon an extension 66" 'of threaded Arod55. The gear pairs lll-"H and 'I2-13 are rotatably mounted in a known'manner `upon vside plate |13.. 'When the driving motor 68 is operatedthe gear train just described drives the threaded rod 65 for rotationthereof and transverse movement of the frame member 24. For reasons tobe mentioned .the driving motor 68 ,should be reversible.

:The-upper half of the marking assembly .0.0mprises a frame member I5which "have :the

' 'essary Lto describe Vthe same in detail.

same general form as frame member 24 and which comprises side walls 'J6including threaded bushings TI and having a U-shaped support 'I8 at theother end thereof. A channel-shaped bar le, like bar E2, is supportedbetween side plate Il and side frame I2 and rollers 8|) in the U-shapedsupport 'i3 engage opposite sides of the bar :1-.9 for support of themarking assembly permitting movement thereof. A second threaded rod 8|is rotatably mounted between vside plate il and side frame l2 in thesame 'manner as threaded rod et is mounted and carries a vgear 32meshing with the gear 'lll of the drive 'for Lthreaded 'rod i. Said rod8| is in 'threaded engagement with the bushings T1 so thatruponoperation of motor 58, rod 3| is rotated-.and bushings H are movedtherealong.

Said frame member le also carries a pair of rollers 83 and a pair ofrollers 84 which are opposite to and in peripheral engagement with said4rollers 3d to Si, inclusive. 'The rollers 83 and '84 are freely'rotatable and serve as reaction rollers to rollers 3d to 3l, inclusive.A reaction plate 8.5 is mounted upon a central support '86 of the framemember d5. rThe frame V-rrlenfiber 'F5 also carries a guide apron dil atone lend anda guide pla-te 8S at 'the other end thereof and forming withreaction plate 85 one side 4of a document g-uideway V'or v4path throughlthe marking assembly. A 'lower guide plate 1&9 Iis lmountedon the lowerframe `mem-ber 24| and has a curved end '89. A second 'guide plate 9!)is mounted on ythe lower frame Ainem-ber 2d lopposite the guide plate 88on'fthe upper Aframe mem-- ber-515. T-he guide plates 39 and 90 `formthe other side of the document guideway or path. A-n opening @i lisprovided between guide plates 89 and Sii and an vopening 'x92 isprovided between reaction -plate l85 -and gu-ide plate 38 for 4a purposelater 'to be described.

The platen 25 is mounted upon a post 93 which lis Lslidable iin-andsupportedby a sleeve -94 within electro-magnet 126. Said electro-magnet-has -a cylindrical `'casing 95, a `coil e6 therein and an end plate 91attached .to casing 95 by 'screws I|18. A coil spring 99 lis placedVbetween post '93 -and said Lend plate $1 -w-ithin the sleeve 9d andlnormallyfpresses platen 25 against the reaction plate '85.

The marking assembly also includes type or other means for impressing`or marking upon a `'document between platen 25 and reaction plate 85.'It may also be that 'a strip of carbon ribbon Wi-ll -be placed 'betweenthe document andthe Fwell known type yor impression member. Inasmuch aslthe marking means such as vstamps Aor -impression members Aare -Wellknown, it 'is not nec- However, `it is to be understood that theinvention is not limited to the type of vmarking ,means and contemplatestheuse lof embossing, -printing or other means of marking upon adocument.

L"Ihepontrol for the platen member of 'the marking assembly comprisesappa'ir of 'normally open contact arms `||3||1and |10| mounted 'by .abraeket |02 .upon the Yframe member A 24| suchas the wall "21 thereof..Said AContact arms 101) and [0| are connected iin ,aknownmanner Linseries with 'the coil 96 across any suitable `,source .of electricity. Acontrol .lever ,H16 is rotatably mounted'by a pivot 1.0.3 to .said frame.member 2t pr the side -,wall 2] thereof and has .an .arm 'IM .extendingalong-.guide plate 8.9 and havnea curved end 110,5 extending through.opening 9| and 'into opening .9.2 .between 'the .guide v.plates formingthe `document path. 4Control lever |06 .fliaslannzarm |01 carrying a rod|08 pivotally mounted thereto and urged in a clockwise. direction by awire spring |09unti1 a pin ||0 on rod |08 engages the edge of arm |01.

in contactarm andinas a lshoulderadapted to Lengage the face ofcontactarm 00. `The other `end of rod |08 is inthe pathjof a postglllronthe "rear of .platen 25. A leaf spring II2`on thel top of solenoidcasing 95 may also engage said other end of rod |08 to return it to itsnormal position.

When a document is moved through the docu-A ment path or betweenreaction plate 85 and guide plate 89 as by said rollers 34 to 31, 83 and84, the curved end of control lever I 06 is moved in a counter clockwisedirection as seen in Fig. 1, or downwardly so that arm |01 and rod |08are moved toward contact arm |00 to close the contacts on arms |00 and|0I, to complete an energizing circuit through coi'l 96 and to retractthe post 93 and platen member 25 against the action of coil spring 99.After predetermined retraction of platen the post |I| strikes one end ofrod |08 to turn it in a counter clockwise direction and to disengage itsshoulder from the face of contact arm |00 which thereupon normallyopens. This interruption of the solenoid energizing circuit permits thespring 99 to act and move the platen 25 against the document and thereaction plate 85 rapidly to create animpression, imprint or othermarking upon the document. The advantage of electro-magnet Y retractionof the coil spring 99 which actuates the platen member 25 is that moreuniform impression or imprinting is obtained in spite of any variationsin line voltage in the source of supply.

Inasmuch as the endorsing machine is usually operated continuously,there should be some ar rangement for reversing the relative movementfbetween the marking assembly and guideway. To this end a switch I|3having an arm ||4 is mounted by a bracket |I5 on the insideof asemi-circular guard ||6 mounted between side 'of switch arm ||4 and inanother direction in the other position of switch arm I I4. Assume thatthe marking assembly or frame member 24 is moved toward the right inFig. 2, .when projection strikes switch arm II4, the operating l Y YA.Hreducedv end |08' of rod |08 extends through an opening movementof'it'h'emafkmgassembiy ai the 'exl' tremesA of -its-ftravelmay be usedwithout departmovement v`of -the VmarkingA assembly without` the cordingto the invention will now 'be described. In stand-bycondition the motors6| and 68 are operating lsoV that threaded rods 66 andV 8|"are circuitto motor 68 will be changed for reversal of said motor 68 whereupon thethreaded rods 66 and 8|;are rotate-d in the opposite direction and themarking assembly including frame memv bers 24 and 15 is moved in theopposite'direction or toward the left as viewed in Fig. 2. When themarking assembly has moved to its extreme lefthand position, theprojection 3| will abut the switch arm I4 and move it to the dotted lineposition shown in Fig. 2 for another reversal of,

rotating and rollers 34to 31;v 83 and 84 are turning. TheV document isthen advanced along "a guideway I6., being guided by side flanges |8 andI9- and its leading edgeis introduced into the bights between thedocument advancing rollers by guide apron 81 and guide plate 89.Inasmuch as the marking assembly is being moved transversely thedistance between the stationary guideway I6 and theibights `of thedocument advancing rollers is preferably only slightly greater than theusual dimension of the document in the direction of document movement.The rollers 34, 36 and 83 advance the document past reaction plate 85and into engagement `,with the 'curved end |05 of the control lever |06and into' the bights between rollers 35, 31 and 84. By movement ofcontrol lever |06, the document arm |01 and rod |08 are moved so thatthe shoulder of arm |01 presses the contact arm |00 against the contactarm |0|. With contact arms |00 and |0| so made the coil 96Y is energizedand platen 25 is retracted. The coil energizing circuit is interruptedby the post I on platen 25 in a manner already described and the platen25 is spring pressed toward the document and reaction plate 85. Suchaction of the platen 25 to create an impression or imprint is so rapidthat movement of the document by said rollers 34 to 31, 83 and 84 is notaffected. The document is finally discharged between guide plates 88 and90 by the rollers 35, 31 and 84 to drop into a hopper or otherl receiverwhich may be placed upon the base plate I0.

In view of the relative movement between the marking assembly andguideway, successive documents will have the impression made atdifferent positions thereon. For instance, checks being fed sidewaysthrough the guideway I6 and through the marking assembly will have theendorsements at progressively increasing distances from the ends. Thus,when a second endorsement is to be made upon a check and is fed into anendorsing machine with relative movement between the guideway andmarking assembly it is quite unlikely that the second endorsement willbe in the same position as any other previous endorsements on the check.Consequently, a check or other document may receive several impressionsor endorsements with only small likelihood that any of theseveralendorsements will be undistinguishable.

Many modifications of the endorsing machine disclosed herein arepossible without departing from the spirit of the invention. The presentdisclosure is merely illustrative and the scope ofthe invention isdefined by the claim which follows.

Havingy now particularly described my invention what I desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States and what I claim is:

In an endorsing machine, the combination comprising a stationaryguideway for successively directing discrete .documents into a documentpath, a plurality of 'supports in spaced relation a7 path, a frame:member ,supported .and movable .upon `fsaiisi fuppnrs j-transyerfselyof said Eguide- Waynd said :document pbh, a .-dooumeiitmovng pletelymounted upon sai-icl Yframe ;member and ,for printing on cifioumentbeing moved by Said document moving means, land sa Iframe fr ecipro-Vica;tingfmeamvs inricontinuously moyirigsaidiirame member-12o andpfrotransverseiyuf saidguideway Vsaidfrr11e-imaminer.

GEQRGE L. AMcCARJII3-Y.

8 REFERENCES CITED YThe followingrefenences `are of record Yin :the le.of ths :patent:

